Braintree offers merchant accounts, a payment gateway, and a bunch of other services at no extra charge besides processing fees. Its products and services have a high degree of customization which is attractive to Internet-based, tech-driven merchants.
You might liken Braintree to Stripe. They are pretty similar as both provide core services designed for developers. However, the biggest difference is that Stripe is a third-party processor while Braintree offers more stability with a bank-sponsored merchant account.
Braintree Products & Services
Braintree offers mobile and digital products only, so if you want a POS integration or an all-in-one solution, move along. The company just provides e-tail, app development, or pretty much anything you’ll need mobile-wise. With so many different features, you might need to process all the possibilities over a couple days. Everything can be customized using one of the most user-friendly integrations you’ll experience in the industry.
There are two parts to Braintree’s service: merchant accounts and gateway services.
- Merchant accounts. A merchant account is what Braintree uses to route funds from your customers’ account to your business account. As a direct processor, your payments account comes directly from Braintree, and not an aggregator like Stripe or Square. With a direct processor, you’ll experience greater stability.
- Gateway services. Braintree’s gateway will connect you to all banking institutions and payment processors that you need in order to collect money from your customers. Your job is to give the payment information to Braintree, and the company will let you know if the transaction was approved by the bank.
For a fee, you can use Braintree if you already have a merchant account and you just need its gateway. However, you’ll find that it comes at a higher cost than other gateways on the market.
If you want to sell directly on a website or in a mobile app, Braintree will act as both the gateway and the processor. You’ll be able to accept and process in a single, modern integration:
- Credit & debit cards
- PayPal
- Mobile wallets (Venmo, Apple Pay & Google Pay)
Braintree Direct also has the following capabilities:
- Recurring billing. Securely store billing information to accept repeat online payments.
- Account updater. Automatically update changes to card details, such as numbers or expiration dates.
- Robust reporting. Receive transaction insights so you can run your business more effectively and efficiently.
- Third-party integration. Plug into a variety of popular enterprise platforms, analytics services, billing applications and more.
Plus, you’ll get industry-leading tools to prevent fraud, manage data security and streamline your operations.
A scalable payments solution for marketplace businesses, this Braintree product equips you with a mix of payment methods like cards, bank payments, PayPal and leading mobile wallets in one single integration.
Hyperwallet, Braintree’s new payout capability, puts you in control of both sides of the transaction. With it, you can seamlessly distribute funds to those that power your platform, including global sellers, freelancers and contractors.
For partners and platform providers, Auth securely shares merchant data and takes authorized actions on behalf of merchants. If you’re a provider of services like invoicing, analytics or recurring billing, your customers can easily connect their Braintree merchant account to your platform. With their permission, you can interact with your customers’ Braintree account data to provide value-add services.
Like Stripe’s Relay, this product allows merchants to share information and sell on one another’s sites and apps. With Extend, you’ll be able to sell in more places, help increase user engagement by enabling loyalty and reward programs, and manage complex payments setup like routing to multiple international processors.
Pricing
Braintree offers an incredibly simple pricing structure. Check it out in the table below:
| Transaction Type | Pricing |
|---|---|
| Cards, Venmo & Digital Wallets | 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction |
| ACH Direct Debit | 0.75% per transaction (capped at $5) |
| Chargeback | $15 per occurrence |
If you choose to integrate with PayPal, you’ll have to pay standard PayPal rates. That’s all you have to worry about. There are no surcharges, and no other fees, including:
- No monthly fee
- No annual fee
- No set-up fee
- No gateway fee
- No monthly minimum fee
- No PCI compliance fee
- No early termination fee (ETF)
- No statement fee
Braintree is a global processor, so you can accept payments in a number of currencies and settle transactions in your own currency. For a 1% fee over the exchange rate, Braintree will automatically handle currency conversions for you. This is a way better deal than paying foreign exchange fees.
Tailored flat rates and interchange plus pricing are available based on volume and business model. Contact the Braintree sales team directly to learn more.
Customer Support & Satisfaction
If you need to get a hold of a customer support representative, you can do so during the following hours:
| Type of Support | Day | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Email Support | Monday – Thursday | 5am – 12am (CST) |
| Friday | 5am – 8pm (CST) | |
| Phone Support | Monday – Thursday | 8am – 7pm (CST) |
| Friday | 8am – 5pm (CST) |
In case of emergencies, you can get help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year via email from agents and engineers on-call.
Online, you’ll find website resources which are easy to navigate and very comprehensive. There’s also a Status page you can check for information on outages or other technical difficulties in real time.
Braintree has not yet been accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and currently holds a B+ rating.
The B+ score indicates that customers aren’t ecstatic about how Braintree responds to their complaints. Reviewing the negative feedback, however, it seems most are related to chargeback and account termination of high risk businesses.
Other feedback across the web carry the following themes: long setup times for accounts, closed accounts, withheld funds and slow response time from customer service.
Contract & Closing
With Braintree, you won’t have to pay an ETF ever. If you want, you can view a Braintree merchant agreement before you sign up. It has pretty standard terms, so there are no red flags that should pop out at you. There are no hidden fees or extra costs. Before you give it go, make sure to go through the company’s list of acceptable business types first.
My Impressions
Braintree is a good recommendation, especially for those that need developer tools and other advanced features beyond payment processing at no additional cost. Although not the cheapest rates in the industry, I think Braintree gives worthy services at a decent price.
For good alternatives, consider Square and Chase Payment Solutions.
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